ChatGPT, an AI-based tool, is getting the attention of medical experts who are assessing its potential to become a standard tool for diagnosing patients and selecting treatments. It’s already impressively close to acing medical licensing exams and performing tasks such as finding the right words to deliver bad news, while image processing capacity is developing as well. No wonder that people increasingly lean on this and similar AI-tools as healthcare alternatives.
But while usage of AI could bring benefits and improve public health, the technology is far from being ready to replace human skills. As Harvard professor Andrew Beam said, GPT-4’s feats look a lot like thinking, although the AI is based on an autocomplete system that isn’t necessarily aware of potential consequences of its advice. This was confirmed by physician Isaac Kohane from Harvard Medical School who used the system to make a successful diagnosis of a baby’s condition.
Still, GPT-4 and technology like it should be approached with caution. As Beam and Kohane suggest, it’s still too early to tell where and how it can be used practically and ethically. Also, its advice may depend on how users phrase and modify their questions – which poses a problem when it comes to autonomous healthcare decision making.
Founded in 2020, ChatGPT is a medical diagnostics startup based in Seattle, WA and developing AI-powered solutions for healthcare providers and patients. It is on a mission to reimagine modern healthcare with artificial intelligence, creating cheaper, faster and more efficient diagnostics solutions. The company’s core product, GPT-4, is a digital health assistant that can analyze patient data and provide tailored recommendations for diagnosis and treatment. With the help of its powerful machine learning capabilities, ChatGPT offers healthcare professionals more comprehensive insights, enabling them to make more informed decisions and improve patient outcomes.
Peter Lee is a computer scientist, engineer and executive in residence at Microsoft Research. In addition to being a co-author on the book The AI Revolution in Medicine: GPT-4 and Beyond, he has led projects at Microsoft Research, and founded two companies in the space of natural language processing, conversational AIs, and medical diagnostics. He is active in the open source community, serving as a mentor for youth in the Tech Valley region and funding programs related to artificial intelligence. His mission is to make the world safer, healthier and more productive with AI solutions.
